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"The estranged wife of a Saudi billionaire has won the right to make a claim on his fortune in the English courts, after the High Court ruled her ex-husband did not have diplomatic immunity.
Sheikh Walid Juffali is being sued by Christina Estrada, a former Pirelli calendar girl, for a share of his £4bn fortune after the couple split up following 13 years of marriage."

"Several major stock markets in the Middle East rose on Monday as local investors bought back shares, though blue-chip banks weighed on Abu Dhabi.

Equity markets in the region, where government revenues largely depend on petrodollars, have been struggling to break free of the negative impact of weak oil prices.

"Investors' propensity to react to changes in oil prices has increased," said a Riyadh-based analyst, noting even a slight change in rhetoric between OPEC and non-OPEC producers can send crude prices up or down and with it Gulf stock markets."

"The tills may still be ringing and the droves of tourists still arriving, but Dubai’s retail juggernaut showed signs of slowing slightly yesterday as fourth-quarter profit at the emirate’s largest shopping centre owner missed analysts’ expectations.

Profit for the quarter ended December at Emaar Malls Group, which owns Dubai’s largest shopping centre, The Dubai Mall, stood at Dh435 million, up 5.5 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Although the profit was up, it was still lower than analysts’ forecasts, missing Bloomberg’s consensus of Dh455m."

"For Azerbaijan, plunging foreign reserves and two currency devaluations last year provided a stern test for the energy-reliant nation. For its long-time leader, the economic and political challenges are just starting.
President Ilham Aliyev is on unfamiliar ground, facing a crisis that turned the manat into the world’s worst performer last year. He’s now confronted by the worst dissent in more than 10 years as prices surge in the Caspian Sea nation of 9.5 million that his family has ruled for more than four decades. The rumblings in Azerbaijan show the issues facing oil dynasties as currencies from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi come under pressure from crude’s slump to a 12-year low.
“The president has no experience of dealing with a crisis of this kind -- he’s become accustomed to living standards and real wages rising year after year,” said Alex Nice, an Economist Intelligence Unit analyst covering Azerbaijan. “Dependence on oil is similar in scale to Saudi Arabia, but Azerbaijan has smaller sovereign reserves.”"

"Emerging-market currencies advanced, led by Russia’s ruble, and shares in the Middle East climbed amid speculation Saudi Arabia and Venezuela will cooperate on stabilizing crude prices.
The ruble strengthened 1.2 percent against the dollar after sliding 2.6 percent last week. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index of shares in the oil-exporting Gulf Cooperation Council added 0.8 percent as stocks in Dubai rallied 2.1 percent. Oil advanced toward $35 a barrel in London after Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi met with his Venezuelan counterpart on Sunday in Riyadh. Most Asian markets are closed Monday for lunar New Year holidays. Bonds in emerging Europe climbed.
A gauge tracking 20 developing-nation currencies increased 0.2 percent by 9:05 a.m. in London. The index has strengthened for the past three weeks as oil climbed back above $30 a barrel after dropping to a 12-year low in January, largely on bets energy-exporting nations will take steps to shore up the market."

"Oil prices will stay low for as long as 10 years as Chinese economic growth slows and the U.S. shale industry acts as a cap on any rally, according to the world’s largest independent oil-trading house.

"It’s hard to see a dramatic price increase," Vitol Group BV Chief Executive Officer Ian Taylor told Bloomberg in an interview, saying prices were likely to bounce around a band with a mid-point of $50 a barrel for the next decade.
"We really do imagine a band, and that band would probably naturally see a $40 to $60 type of band," he said. "I can see that band lasting for five to ten years. I think it’s fundamentally different.""